


Of Improv and Accidents

by SabbyStarlight



Series: Cairo Week 2020! [3]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Breaking Jack a little this time, Bromance, Cairo Week 2020!, Fluff, Gen, Mac isn't too happy about it, Whump, you know... the usual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:15:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23654452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SabbyStarlight/pseuds/SabbyStarlight
Summary: Day Two (again!):  Improvise Day!Mac isn't the only one who can do a little improvising.
Series: Cairo Week 2020! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1701235
Comments: 23
Kudos: 31





	Of Improv and Accidents

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise! What's Cairo Day without a little lighthearted whump? 

“I can’t believe you did that,” Mac hissed as he pushed Jack through the doorway and down the hall, pointing to the barstools tucked neatly beneath the kitchen counter. “Sit. And don’t do anything else stupid and hurt yourself worse.”

“I ain’t hurt,” Jack protested, sitting down as instructed anyway and reaching a hand up to rub at his, admittedly throbbing shoulder, while Mac’s back was turned. “Not anymore. That was kinda the whole point.”

“You threw out your shoulder again,” Mac’s voice reminded, muffled from digging through the freezer, a cloud of condensation pouring out around him as the cold air hit the heat still coming off his skin. “And tried to fix it yourself.”

“Didn’t try,” Jack muttered, catching the ice pack Mac sent sliding across the counter with his uninjured arm before it continued sliding right off into the floor. “I fixed it. Good as new.”

“You can’t fix a dislocated shoulder by ramming yourself into the side of the garage, Jack!” Mac ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “We’re going in. Getting it checked out. Grab that ice for the road, I’ll find my keys.”

“I’m not going to Medical when I’m perfectly fine,” He insisted, reaching up and pressing the frozen gel pack to the shoulder in question, biting back a wince. “It don’t hurt,” He assured when Mac saw right through the act. “Just cold.”

“Do you know what kind of damage you could have done?” Mac asked and Jack could practically see the pages of medical knowledge, all of it worst-case-scenario type stuff that Mac felt the need to know while Jack himself would rather focus on the practical side of things, flipping through his partner’s’ mind.

“Could’ve,” He agreed, shrugging his good shoulder with nonchalant ease. “But I didn’t. I’ve been throwing this shoulder out for years, dude. You know that. Calm down.”

“Exactly. And each time could be the last time, Jack!” Mac threw up his hands in exasperation and began pacing the length of the kitchen. “I told you. I told you basketball was a bad idea. We had just washed the cars, the asphalt would be slick, but did you listen? No, you just go right into the garage as if you own the place and dig out a ball. And what happened? You fell, because of course you did. Always going on and on about how I’m the reckless one, running headfirst into danger with no regard for my own safety and you go and do something like that! And as if that wasn’t enough you pull yourself up before I can even as if you’re okay and go charging at the corner of the garage like your some kind of matador and it’s your cape.”

Jack waited patiently, trying not to laugh at Mac’s outburst, and waited until the younger man collapsed against the sink, leaning back with his arms crossed, staring Jack down angrily. “You done?” He asked, voice calm. “Rant over?”

“Yeah,” Mac sighed, “Rant over.”

“Alright, Imma work backwards on this one, okay?” Jack set the icepack back onto the counter so he could have a free hand to count the points he was about to make out on his fingers. “One? Matadors don’t go runnin’ towards the cape, you dummy. They’re the ones holdin’ the capes. I’d be the bull in that there metaphor. Two? That was far from the first time I’ve popped this bad boy back in by doin’ that. Guess you’d just never seen it happen. And I’m sorry, cause lookin’ back at it now, yeah, that was probably kinda terrifying to see. But it gets the job done.”

“That is the most insane, unsafe way to attempt to realign a joint I’ve ever heard of,” Mac interrupted.

“Hush, you got your turn, I’m talkin’ now,” Jack cut him off. “Besides, if it’s good enough for Rambo it’s good enough for Jack Dalton. Three? You were right about the driveway, I’ll give you that much. Should’ve waited until it dried. But there’s no way in hell I’m goin’ to Medical today. I’m fine, promise.”

“Jack, I don’t care that it’s Cairo Day, you need to get checked out.”

“Well, I care enough for the both of us. And that what I got you for.”

“Oh, so I’m good enough to ask for help once the damage is done but not to fix it?” Mac rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. “Did it ever cross your mind to ask me to help you? Instead of taking manners into your own hands and leaving a giant dent in the siding on the corner of my garage? It’s not like I haven’t done it before.”

“Sure, on missions when we didn’t have any other choice.” Jack agreed. “This was different.”

“Yeah, it was different. There was a perfectly good medical facility half an hour away.” Mac reminded him. “Which is where we’re going now. You want to take the Jeep instead of getting one of yours all dusty since we just washed them?”

“I ain’t goin’ to Phoenix Med on Cairo Day,” Jack protested. “Told you, dude, I’m perfectly fine! Come see for yourself so you can stop worryin’.”

“And what if I disagree with your action-movie-inspired self-diagnosis and decide you need to be seen by someone who actually knows what they’re doing?”

“Then…” Jack weighed his words carefully, knowing that Mac was intentionally putting him in a position to be backed into a corner by his own words. “Then I’ll consider getting checked out once the clock strikes midnight and it’s no longer the cursed day to end all cursed days. If you really think there's something wrong. But I'm tellin' you, I took care of it.”

Mac sighed, stepping around the counter and dropping a hand against Jack’s uninjured shoulder. “Alright, lemme see,”

He stayed perfectly still as Mac poked and prodded at his shoulder, ignoring the darkening bruises and focusing instead on any injuries they could be hiding. Jack followed the instructions to move his arm this way and that as Mac tested for any mobility limits, biting down on the inside of his cheeks when a particular movement hurt.

“I still wish you would have let me help you,” Mac said again, shaking his head in an attempt to lodge the memory of Jack ramming into the side of his house and the sickening pop that followed out of his mind. “But somehow, I actually think it’s fine.”

“Wanna hear an I told you so now?” Jack offered with a grin. “Or should I save it? Really savor the moment?”

“Wanna promise me you’ll never do that again?” Mac countered his offer, handing the forgotten icepack back to Jack. “Ever?”

“Naw, now you know I don’t go makin' promises I can’t keep.” Jack’s eyes softened. “But I might can try to remember not to do it if there’s another option around. Or to warn you, at the very least.” 

"That's... honestly a better offer than I was expecting," Mac admitted. "So I guess I'll take it. As long as you're sure it's not bothering you?" 

"A little sore," Jack admitted. He knew better than to lie and say he wasn't feeling it at all, that was a rookie mistake that would have gotten him called out and hauled in to Medical in a heartbeat. "Probably should hold off on finishing our b-ball game for a day or two." 

"You think so?" Mac laughed. 

"Yeah," Jack continued, keeping his tone serious and biting back a chuckle of his own. "For a few days at least. Shame too, I was about to kick your butt." 

"Pretty sure I was winning," Mac shook his head, seeing right through Jack's act but knowing that if his partner was well enough to turn the entire situation into a joke he didn't have to be too worried. "You know, before you had to go and slip on a puddle and try to break yourself." 

"Hey, now, you said it earlier, that was a bad call on my part. Driveway was slick, all that soap runoff from washin' the cars. Give me a little more credit than just slippin' in a damn puddle." 

"Sorry, man," Mac headed back to the fridge, reaching for a couple of waterbottles and putting himself out of striking range in one move. "That's not how I remember it."

"I'm never gonna live this down, am I?" Jack laughed, catching the water Mac tossed his way with one hand. 

"Well," Mac nodded towards the deck, trusting Jack to follow him outside. "Unless one of the neighbors saw it happen, there were no witnesses. So as long as you agree not to pull any more crazy stunts today I can maybe be talked into keeping it between us." 

"It's the Cairo curse, hoss," Jack settled into one of the deck chairs with a grin, balancing the icepack on his shoulder and cracking the seal on the bottle in his hand, holding it out to Mac expectantly as if there was something more exciting than water inside. "Somethin' always goes wrong today, you know that." 

"Guess so," Mac agreed, tapping his own water bottle against Jack's with a dull thunk. 

"And besides, I'm pretty sure any and all incidents that occur on Cairo Days fall under the 'we don't talk about Cairo' category of our little agreement, anyway." Jack continued. 

"Well, that just worked out great for you then, didn't it?" Mac rolled his eyes at his partner who always managed to have an answer for everything and reached out an expectant hand, curled into a fist. "I'm glad you're okay, man." 

"Happy Cairo Day," Jack answered, bumping his own fist against Mac's with a grin.

**Author's Note:**

> Again, Happy Cairo Day! I really am out of fics for today now, see y'all tomorrow! 


End file.
